Wolfpack goes blank on Saturday, and for a moment Monday morning

N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe obviously has more to worry about than the ACC media teleconference, but there was an awkward moment Monday morning when his phone line died in the middle of an answer to The News & Observer’s Joe Giglio.

Giglio asked about how hard the Wolfpack plays, and whether Saturday’s loss at North Carolina was an aberration.

“Um, I think this group will play hard. Saturday, that was just a game. I don’t know, it was a weird game. Guys seemed to be ready n the locker room, ready to go to and excited, with good energy,” Lowe responded.

“Initially, when we don’t hit a few shots early, our defense seems to suffer a little bit. Our energy goes down. And we can’t have that.

“We have to be better at overcoming that early drought of not hitting shots and picking up on the defensive end.”

Whoops! Not long after that, Lowe’s line went blank (Wonder if he has AT&T as his cell service?)

After a minute or so, he was back on the line. In the remaining time, Lowe touched on a variety of points involving the Wolfpack team. One was that State doesn’t seem to have great balance when it comes to scoring, and the return of Tracy Smith after an injury hasn’t bolstered the team as expected.

“I can’t remember the last time we had a game where everybody played well. We haven’t had that in a while,” he said. “Having Tracy back certainly helped but we need other people to play well for us. We’ve had a couple of times now where we would take three or four players who played the majority of minutes and they went 4 for 16. And we can’t do that.

“But with Tracy back we should be better defensively. I don t think we’ve taken advantage of that. I don’t think we’ve defended as well as we need. We need to get games where we have more than two guys playing well.”

Speakingly broadly, Lowe had an almost deflated tone in this news conference. He talked about how tough the Wolfpack’s schedule has been in ACC play, and how this team still has time to make a run, but if you listened to his tone of voice, you had a hard time believing this team is about to roar through the rest of the season.

No excuse for lazy effort by N.C. State

The North Carolina game is always a crucible for N.C. State, a test that football coach Tom O’Brien has embraced. But the men’s basketball team produced an embarrassing effort Saturday that highlighted the deficiencies of this Wolfpack team.

State has talent, but that’s not enough. Whether Ryan Harrow is on the bench or not with the flu, there is no excuse, none at all, for lazy play. College basketball players, whether playing their rival in the Smith Center on ESPN or playing Delaware State before a small crowd, should give their all. UNC did that Saturday, and great coaches like Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski get maximum effort from their teams.

That’s not the case with N.C. State. Carolina roared out to a 19-6 lead early in the game thanks to a 15-2 rebounding advantage. That’s simply an outrageous imbalance. One of the rare mistakes the Tar Heels made in the game is they once had six players on the floor, which was comical given that UNC seemed capable of winning this game with only four.

But there were little moments that were telling. Carolina’s Kendall Marshall zoomed right down the middle of the NCSU defense untouched, missed a shot and there were two Tar Heels to rebound. Richard Howell got caught in a double-team, and as ESPN astutely pointed out, not a single Wolfpacker rushed to get the ball. You could see it clearly on the replay – with Howell in trouble, his four teammates just stood there.

State never moved with crisp efficiency on offense, preferring to hope a player could beat his man and get a basket.

And as for overall hustle, you just didn’t see that from State. Harrison Barnes once beat two Wolfpack players to a loose ball. Late in the game, C.J. Leslie made almost no effort for a loose ball as two Carolina players went after it.

The only conclusion you can draw is N.C. State is simply a lazy team. They have some guys who play hard – Tracy Smith, Lorenzo Brown, Ryan Harrow – but not enough. By game’s end, UNC fans were chanting, “Not our rival!” Right now, that’s the case.

This was a ridiculous performance from N.C. State, and it’s school, and fan base, deserve better.

Losing season now possible for N.C. State

N.C. State's basketball season could quickly spiral downward if Saturday's 84-71 loss at Florida State was any indication. The Wolfpack was picked for fourth in the ACC this year in preseason, but that looks like a vast misjudgment by the media based on early results. It is now conceivable that State could have a losing season, and you can't imagine that athletics director Debbie Yow would judge Sidney Lowe favorably in that situation.

The Pack was never in the game at Tallahassee as a season-long indifference toward defense continued. "That was probably the worst defense I've seen us play in a long time," Lowe told The News & Observer. "It really hurt us."

Florida State shot 69 percent from the floor in the second half. For the game, the Seminoles never trailed, outscored State 20-8 on points off turnovers and held the Wolfpack to 19 first-half points.

Even more amazing was that State did not score a single point on a fast break, while FSU scored 11.

The stretch ahead could be gruesome for the Wolfpack. Duke visits the 19th, followed by Miami, at Clemson, at UNC, Virginia Tech and at Duke. State has some young talent, but this season could get even uglier fast.

Dana Bible's return inspires N.C. State

The most significant returning starter for N.C. State is Dana Bible, the offensive coordinator whose life changed Nov. 20, when he checked into the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center the day before State’s game at Virginia Tech.

Bible had the full-throttle work ethic of many football coaches, overlooking any aches and pains. But he knew something was wrong, and he went to see coach Tom O’Brien the Friday morning before the game at Tech. “From the time he walked into my office at 11 am until when we headed to Blacksburg, he looked terrible,” O’Brien said.

Bible had acute promyelocytic leukemia, and needed treatment immediately. At one point in the treatment, O’Brien said, “We almost lost him. But he made it through it and he made it through this whole thing.”

GoPack's Peeler hunts through Wolfpack archives

OK, one last post and that's it for the night, but take a few minutes to see this wonderful piece by Todd Gibson of NBC-17 on N.C. State's hunt for its athletic memories.

Tim Peeler, the managing editor of GoPack.com, is digging through the bowels of Reynolds Coliseum to find old trophies and artifacts and is trying to organize it all for N.C. State. Gibson has some cool video of the project.

Heels defense heads All-ACC team

A sign of the UNC program's progression under coach Butch Davis, the Tar Heels landed five defensive players on the ACC's preseason all-conference football team, which was released on Wednesday.

Defensive end Robert Quinn, defensive tackle Marvin Austin, linebacker Quan Sturdivant, cornerback Kendrick Burney and safety Deunta Williams were all selected. The team was voted on by the media attending the ACC Kickoff press conferences in Greensboro Sunday and Monday. North Carolina had the nation's No. 6 defense last season.

By comparison, Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder, the preseason pick for league player of the year, is one of two Seminoles on the team.

Also on the offense, Duke wide receiver Donovan Varner and N.C. State tight end George Bryan were the lone Triangle players picked.

NCSU's O'Brien continues to insist Glennon will push Wilson

Tom O’Brien tends to shoot straight, so it’s worth paying close attention when he talks about Mike Glennon. It’s easy to assume that Russell Wilson will start at quarterback for State, but O’Brien continued to insist Monday that the quarterback position is open.

“Mike Glennon is going to push Russell for the starting job,” O’Brien said. And asked they could share the position, O’Brien said, “I’ve never been a two-quarterback guy.”

It’s not just what he says, but how he says it. There’s some real conviction in O’Brien’s voice when it comes to Glennon. Remember, O’Brien is a guy whose best Boston College teams featured drop-back, NFL-style passers.

N.C. State's Wilson struggles to hit in minors again

Russell Wilson has struggled to hit in his summer as a minor leaguer in the Colorado Rockies system.

Wilson, the N.C. State quarterback, was hitting just .207 through Sunday for the Tri-City Dust Devils. He was listed as a center fielder when drafted in the fourth round in June but has been playing second base in the minors. So
far, he has two homers and three steals but has been caught four times in 22 games. Wilson has 22 at-bats.

This is the second summer where Wilson has struggled to hit in the minors. He hit just .205 for Gastonia in 2009.

Wilson may make it in baseball, but he needs at-bats – and plenty of them – to adjust to wood bats and the pace of professional baseball.

Sophomores, better depth will help Lowe and N.C. State improve

N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe held his summer news conference Tuesday, and much of the attention, as expected, focused on the incoming freshmen. There’s no doubt point guard Ryan Harrow, guard Lorenzo Brown and forward C.J. Leslie give State an infusion of talent.

But the real difference in the Wolfpack’s season could be that, for the first time under Lowe, State has competition for playing time. Remember that State’s sophomore class is quite good, and college basketball players generally experience their greatest improvement from their freshmen to sophomore years.

State’s problem in recent years has been a lack of legitimate ACC players on the roster. That’s not the case now. Scott Wood started all 16 ACC games and averaged 28.9 minutes and 8.4 points.

With added strength, as detailed by A.J. Carr on GoPack.com, he should become even better. Look at it like this – wouldn’t State fans be thrilled if Brown averaged 28 minutes and 8 points in ACC play?

Sophomore Richard Howell missed the entire preseason and first four games with knee surgery but showed the potential to be a real beast inside by season’s end. He averaged 14.2 minutes and 5.3 points in ACC games.

Lowe, WRAL.com reports, said that Tracy Smith will play power forward and sophomore DeShawn Painter will compete for time at center. And you have to expect 7-1 sophomore Jordan Vandenberg to be improved and push for minutes as well. So remember, this is a sophomore class that helped turn around the malaise State had suffered in previous seasons and helped bring a tougher spirit back to Wolfpack basketball.

Lowe will have to balance out the playing time and build camaraderie, but overall, competition in practice makes for a much better team. Lowe finally will have that. The freshmen have a level of athleticism that surpasses the sophomore class, but the bottom line is Lowe has quality and quantity on the roster for the first time.

N.C. State's Woodson continues dazzling start

The spectacular start to Randy Woodson’s tenure as chancellor continued Friday when the Wolfpack named Debbie Yow its new athletics director.

Yow, who had been at Maryland, credited Woodson with convincing her to come. And in landing Yow, State lands an experienced athletics director who succeeded at a similar school and brings a legendary name – Yow – back to the West Raleigh campus.

The move, which was kept out of the public eye until Thursday night, gives a fresh jolt of energy to the Wolfpack and continues Woodson’s impressive run.

State needed a change at athletics director, with Wolfpack fans unhappy, and rightfully so, with the overall success of the program under Lee Fowler. The ground was laid for Fowler to leave before Woodson arrived, but Woodson made four critical, and important, moves: